NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
The chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) says the alliance does not have any plans for a military action against Syria.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made the remarks at a press conference in the Danish capital Copenhagen on Friday.
“I don’t foresee any NATO role in an international response to the regime,” Fogh Rasmussen said, adding that such a move would require approval from all the alliance’s member states.
Earlier in the day, French President Francois Hollande said he “agreed that the international community cannot tolerate the use of chemical weapons, that it must hold the Syrian regime responsible and send a strong message to denounce the use of (such) arms.”
However, lawmakers of Britain’s parliament voted against a military intervention in the Arab state despite calls by British Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama.
On Wednesday, the NATO chief said, “Any use of such weapons is unacceptable and cannot go unanswered. Those responsible must be held accountable.”
The call for military action against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of launching a chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million of others displaced due to the violence.
Press TV